


Storybrooke is already great. (So fuck off, thank you.)

by Hana (steppingstone)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Anti-Donald Trump, Bisexuality, F/F, Fluff, LGBTQ+ Love, Pride, protest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-14 00:50:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10525449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steppingstone/pseuds/Hana
Summary: "If you don't stick to your values when they're being tested, they're not values—they're hobbies."





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Violetscented](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violetscented/gifts), [CurvyPragmatist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CurvyPragmatist/gifts), [Pinkshiori](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pinkshiori/gifts).



> I needed to write something in response to Trump, Brexit, and all the stupid hateful scary things that are happening.
> 
> But this was inspired by a conversation at the UK Swen meet up last November where we were joking about mistakes and the things we forget to mention when we write fanfic. E.g. someone is holding cake one sentence then it suddenly turns into a piece of flapjack. Or a character wasn't initially in the room but now they're sitting on the couch.
> 
> So I said I would write a story based on one of those kinds of mistakes for a laugh and here it is, finally! It was quite a fun challenge. How do you write it in with at least some realism? Anyway rather than tell you in advance I'll let you discover what it is as you're reading. ;p
> 
> -
> 
> For Emma and Amanda, thanks for organising two amazing Swen meet ups last year. They completely changed my life for the better. :D

As they joined the back of the line Emma grew worried that they’d left it too late. It was nearly midday already. She craned her neck to see if she could spot the coffee stand through the crowd ahead of her. The owner had tweeted earlier that he was only getting a limited amount of stock in for this.

“It's weird," Henry said. "It’s so much busier than last year." Emma agreed with him. There were so many people milling around that she didn’t recognise.

Regina reached for her purse. “I’ll pay for entry. My treat.”

“Thank you,” Emma smiled, before gently sliding Henry’s phone out of his hand and back into his pocket. Regina nodded her head in approval. Today was supposed to be a family day for the three of them. Emma had been looking forward to it all week. 

A man began handing out flyers down the line but hurried off in the other direction once he caught sight of them. Eventually they made it inside. They had to push through hoards of people to reach any of the stalls. Regina’s sharp elbows were good for getting people out of the way as she filled her bag with rare meats and cheeses and a few items of jewellery. The Easter market was always good for getting something unique. Henry squeezed his way over to the food and bought a hotdog.

Emma finally spotted what she was looking for and pushed her way to the stand. “Please tell me you have some Kopi Luwak left?” she said when it was her turn to be served.

“You’re in luck. Got just enough for one last cup.”

“Thank god.” Emma clenched her fists and punched the air in triumph. 

“Isn’t that stuff made from monkey poo?” Henry asked with his mouth half full. Regina looked thoroughly disgusted. 

“The coffee cherries used in production may have been part digested first,” Emma said. “But it’s what makes it taste so good. And Tony’s ordered it in especially for the market. You can’t normally buy it in Storybrooke.” 

“That’ll be 40 bucks please.”

Regina shook her head in disbelief. 

“Tell you what,” the man said, “I’ll throw in a cookie for you too.”

Emma loved getting Saviour perks. It didn’t take long to wolf it down.

They carried on shuffling by the stalls. As they passed one that sold novelty signs a woman quickly put out a new tray of stock on top of what was already out but it wasn’t anything interesting. Just the usual attempts at humor such as, ‘I baby proofed the house but they still get in.’

The next stall was run by the fairies selling candles for the nunnery. “Do you recognise that woman?” Emma said, nodding behind them.

“I’ve never seen her before.” Blue replied. 

“I don’t recognise the man on that soap stall over there either,” Regina chipped in. “Something isn’t right here. All the traders are supposed to be local.” 

“You think some outsiders have snuck in?” Emma asked. 

Henry pulled a poster off a nearby pole. “Nope,” he said, stuffing the last of his hotdog in his mouth. He pulled a face as he turned the paper round to show his moms. It was advertising a rally to promote ‘American Values’. “I think something bigger is going on.”

Emma took the piece of paper from his hand for a closer look. “Shit. It starts in 5 minutes.” 

“But we’ve only just got here!” Regina complained. 

“We’re the face of the politics and policing in Storybrooke. If we don’t show up to speak against them then what kind of message are we giving?” 

Regina sighed, knowing that Emma was right but still reluctant to leave before she’d reached the vintage wine stall. Henry was looking at his phone again so Emma led him by the arm in the direction of Main Street. She caught sight of the sign stall again on the way back out. The top tray had now been removed and the signs underneath contained anti-LGBTQ messages. 

The sight of them really stung. Emma was both hurt and outraged. “Hey Regina,” she called. “Will you do me a favour and deal with this whilst I head over to the rally?”

Things were already pretty heated by the time Emma and Henry arrived. A large crowd of people were stood in the middle of the road holding racist and Islamaphobic placards whilst listening to someone make a speech on a makeshift stage. It was a shock. She knew these types of gatherings had begun popping up all over America since that fucking fascist had got into power but she never thought it would happen here. Not in her town. 

How wrong she’d been.

“They’ve been making their way all along the coast of Maine apparently,” Granny said. She looked sick and tired of the sight in front of her. “I’m heading back inside to get my crossbow.” 

“Hey, wait a minute!” Bringing weapons to the roadside didn’t sound wise but Granny was already out of earshot. That woman moved surprisingly fast for her age. 

As the minutes passed on a few more residents of Storybrooke began pooling around the participants of the rally. “How did they know to come here?” Emma wondered out loud.

“I may have Tweeted a call to action,” Henry said.

Emma slapped him on the back. “Good one kid.” She paused to consider her next course of action but she didn’t get chance to think for long as a man in a ‘Make America Great Again’ t-shirt holding a baseball bat turned around and threatened the residents stood several meters behind him. He took a swing at one of them. 

“Hey!” Emma yelled. “Put that down!” She ran over and he turned and swung the bat in her direction. Her free arm blocked the blow so she was free to kick him in the balls. He fell to the floor in agony. She pulled out her handcuffs. “Consider yourself arrested.” The sheriff snapped the metal round his wrists and yanked him back to where she’d been standing. 

Regina walked up to them, looking calm and composed despite the chaos around her. Her hair shone in the warm, Spring sunlight.

“What did you do with the lady on the stall?” Henry asked.

“I politely asked her to remove the offending items,” she replied looking very pleased with herself. 

“Then why are your hands smoking?” Henry pointed out. Regina rubbed her palms together and ignored the question. 

Emma caught Regina’s eye and they both looked at each other in disbelief. “I can’t believe this is happening,” Regina said, shaking her head.

“Yeah. Well they’ve chosen the wrong town to mess with.” She wasn’t going to let them get away with this. Regina agreed.

Emma fished her cell out of her pocket and rang her parents to ask them to come over and keep things peaceful. Neal was going to be left with a neighbor. Sidney emerged from the crowd of locals and walked over. He handed Emma a flyer. “A man was giving out these in the market,” he said. “Despite our past differences I think we can agree there is no way handing out ‘Make Storybrooke White Again’ propaganda is permissible.”

Emma gasped in shock and outrage. Differences may have been an interesting word choice but she absolutely agreed with what Sidney was saying. “I think I saw that guy earlier. I’ll see if I can find him again.” 

“I’ll keep an eye on things here with your parents.” Regina said. A quick glance at Henry silently communicated that she would look after him too. Emma grinned. The way they co-parented always made her smile. 

She dashed back towards the market stalls and scanned the faces in the crowd. She caught sight of guy handing out flyers in the distance and began making her way over. He must have been on the lookout as it wasn’t long before he clocked her presence and started moving in the opposite direction. The crowds meant it was the slowest and most ridiculous chase she’d ever taken part in. It seemed to take an age to get any closer and she had to shove a few innocent people out of the way with her free hand in order to do so. When she saw he was heading to one of the exits she hopped over an unused stall table so she could cut him off. 

It worked.

“Who the hell are you?!” she asked. 

When he refused to give any answers she pushed him against a metal fence and grabbed his wallet from his back pocket. She flipped it open with one hand, then rested it against her waist whilst she pulled out a few cards. She looked at his driving license. “Michael Pike. Fellow resident of Maine,” she mumbled to herself. He punched her and tried to push her away but she was stronger. She kept him in place and took a look at the next one she'd pulled out; a business card for a local ‘American Values’ group. He must be part of the same bunch that was holding the rally. Some kind of large scale operation must have been planned if they were this coordinated. They must have done their research too seeing as they knew what the Mayor and Sheriff looked like. 

She took a sip of her heaven sent coffee. Thankfully the cup had been insulated enough to keep it warm for this long. “Why are you here?” she asked.

“Storybrooke isn't supporting our new president enough.” 

She laughed in his face. “And we never will.”

A sharp pain suddenly cracked the back of her head, brutal enough to make her eyes water. A rock lay at her feet. She whipped round and saw a man standing some distance behind her. “Dirty fence sitter!” he yelled, spitting on the ground.

“Right that’s it,” she said. “I have so had it with you guys.” She wouldn’t have tolerated this kind of behaviour anyway but now it was personal. She asked a passer by to bring her a skipping rope from a nearby toy stall and tied Mike up one handed. It was one of the many skills she’d learned from Neal in her youth. Then she asked him to take him to the station and put him in one of the cells.

“You can’t arrest me for handing out leaflets!” Mike said. 

“No, but you’re going down for assaulting law enforcement.” 

The passer by dragged him off and Emma turned round to look for the guy who had thrown the stone at her but lost him in the crowds. It made sense why there were so many people she didn’t recognise here now; the group must have bussed people in from neighbouring areas. 

Ashley approached her, asking if she was alright. 

“Yeah, fine thanks,” Emma said. “Will you do me a favour though? Can you walk round and get rid of all these flyers people have been putting up?” Her phone beeped with a message from Regina. “I’ve gotta get back to Main Street.” Emma shuffled her way through the crowds again and spotted scorch marks on the stall that had been selling the signs. She rolled her eyes at Regina's behaviour but knew she wouldn't have done it when anyone from outside of Storybrooke was looking. Emma would have to have words with her later.

“You’re hurt,” Regina said, eyes full of concern. She got a tissue and pressed it against the back of Emma’s head. Emma’s heart rate sped up when The Mayor placed her other hand on Emma’s cheek to steady her whilst she stemmed the blood flow. Regina would never normally get this close. “What happened?” The Mayor asked.

Emma watched Regina’s eyes flare in anger as she filled her in, although she left out exactly what kind of insult had been shouted at her earlier. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of who she was. More that she felt scared of how her sexuality could affect the relationships she’d spent so many years building. She had parents in her life now. And a son. And his other mom. They would never reject her, or do anything as mean as foster families in the past had. But any potential disgust or disappointment would be too much for her to bear. Memories of the way her parents were going to stand by and let her get rid of her powers often came back to her. And she'd always wanted her loved ones to accept her. To celebrate, instead of tolerate. 

“How’s erm, everything going here?” Emma stammered slightly. “Why did you message me?”

“Things are escalating,” Regina replied. “We’ve had to put one woman in your cruiser for trying to start a fight. We put the guy who was swinging the bat around earlier in with her. Granny’s currently guarding them. People are getting restless, so Belle and your parents are guarding those holding the rally so they don’t get hurt in case things turn violent.” 

Regina shot them a dirty look. They all felt bitter about helping to protect them. It was much more than those bastards would ever do for them. She looked round for Henry and found him standing at the back of the crowds, out of harm’s way yet talking to rally participants and trying to reason with them. He was such a smart, grown up kid.

Regina took her hand off the back of Emma's head and rubbed her thumb over the area where Emma had been punched earlier. The blonde couldn’t help but shudder a little in pleasure. The Mayor was about to comment on the red marks on her face when they were interrupted by an angry cry. “America has gotten out of control!” a woman on the stage shouted through a megaphone. The people attending the rally cheered whilst Storybrooke residents tried to boo her down. “You must stand behind our president as he fights against the dangers facing this country. Otherwise you’re enabling all of our problems. Immigrants will flood our borders. Jobs will be stolen. Terrorists will kill innocent Americans-”

“Racists!” Grumpy interrupted.

“So let’s make Storybrooke great again!” the woman on stage cried. The locals surged forward in anger. Snow and Charming shouted for them to stand back and stay calm.

Regina tried to take the cup from Emma’s hand in order to put it in the trash. “Why are you still carrying your litter around with you?”

“Hey, I still haven’t had chance to drink it!” the blonde replied.

“At least put it down whilst we deal with the crowd.”

“Not at that price,” Emma muttered, pulling her cup away from Regina. The last thing she wanted was someone knocking it over. She drank a few mouthfuls of perfection whilst she planned what course of action to take next. They couldn’t use magic to run them out of town as outing themselves would put them all in danger. Now the barrier was down visitors and tourists could come to Storybrooke - but only if everyone who lived here played their part in making the place look like any other rural American town. Otherwise they could lose everything to some kind of military takeover. Those with magic would probably be captured and experimented on.

So that left running the crowd out of town as peacefully as possible and for that, they needed more hands on deck. Emma rolled her eyes at the way her brain still used pirate phrases despite long being single.

“I’ll be back,” she said to Regina as she walked down Main Street. She began entering all the shops and restaurants and asking people to gather around the rally. Peacefully. Then she returned to the market and asked a few friends to round up as many shoppers as possible for her so she she wouldn't be away from where everything was happening for too long.

Slowly the crowd of residents began to outnumber those holding the rally, so they began snatching the placards out of their hands and passing them back behind them. Locals at the edge of the crowd then took them and piled them by the side of the road. 

Emma decided to make her way to the stage so she could grab the megaphone and shout out some instructions but she was having trouble getting through. A few of the ‘American Values’ group were blocking her way and despite shoving them she was unable to get them to move. 

Someone on stage caught sight of what she was doing and singled her out to the crowd. It was the man who had thrown had chucked the rock at her head earlier. “I have a feeling more residents would be on our side if they only knew of the horrors were hiding amongst them,” he yelled. 

Emma froze as the realisation of what he was about to do hit her. She wondered how he had found out. He must have seen an old profile online or something. Before moving to Storybrooke she’d been on quite a few different dating sites. 

“Take your beloved Sheriff here,” the man continued, “pretending to date men to cover the fact that she’s actually into women.” A few members of the rally booed. “It's an abomination. And you let her police your town and raise an innocent child.” 

She took a swig of Kopi Luwak for good luck and shoved the people in front of her again. Hard. This time she finally managed to squeeze through and she climbed up onto their makeshift stage one handed. She snatched the megaphone right off him. It emitted a wail that made everyone in earshot wince. 

“Oh, crap. Sorry,” she mumbled. 

She found the right button to press. “Alright everyone,” she shouted. “Listen up! I’m through with this. I’m done.” 

“We are too!” Granny shouted.

“Those of you who live here please surround one or two visitors and see that they make it back to their vehicles. Safely and peacefully. Some of you will need to follow them in your cars as far as the town line to make sure they don’t try to drive back in.”

It would be so easy to lie and deny what the man had just said. But she also realised that you can’t make a stand if you won’t put yourself on the front line. Red and Dorothy were in another land but surely there must be others like her in the crowd? She decided she would speak to them, to let them know that she wasn't ashamed and they weren't alone.

“However before you all start moving I've got one more thing to say.” She couldn’t bear to look at any of her family so she kept her eyes on the other Storybrooke residents instead. Her bottom lip trembled. 

“What this man just did is way out of line. It is never ok to out someone before they are ready.” Everyone was staring at her now, wondering what point she was about to make. “But as my hand was forced I might as well take this chance to say my piece.” She took a deep breath. “Yes, I am bisexual” she said, correcting the man’s earlier statements. “But I’m proud of who I am and I will always stand against hate. Of any kind. She addressed the 'American Values' group next; "Which is why you’ll never be welcome in Storybrooke as long as I’m here.” 

Emma took another sip of her coffee. “So let’s get our town back,” she shouted. She didn't give a shit about what those holding the rally thought but she was happy to see that most residents began to applaud. The blonde sighed in relief as people began to follow her orders and escort the unwelcome visitors back towards the town lines. She put the megaphone down, stepped off stage and for a few seconds began to fantasise about walking down Main Street with sunglasses, a bi flag as a cape and of course, her sacred coffee. 

A hug from her son interrupted her daydreams. He nearly knocked her off her feet with his ferocity. “I can’t believe you never told us. You know it would have never mattered to me.” Tears stung her eyes as she hugged him back tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered. 

She took his hand and ushered him to one side as some residents began dismantling the stage to clear the road. Her parents spotted her and beckoned her over. “We’re so proud of you Emma,” her mom said. And her dad did that thing where he cradled the back of her head when he wrapped his arms round her. 

He recoiled when he realised his hand was wet. “Did you know you’re bleeding?” he asked. 

“Yeah it's alright. Looks worse than it is. That guy with the megaphone threw a rock at me earlier.” Her parents shot him a look of disgust as a bunch of people dragged him down the road. Unsurprisingly he was putting up more resistance than most. Emma knew she could tell the whole story now. “He was hurling biphobic slurs at me too.” 

Snow squeezed her arm in comfort and they stood in silence for a while, observing events as they unfolded around them. Eventually Emma noticed Regina was watching her from across the road with her hands in her coat pockets, her expression neutral. She tipped her head back slightly to indicate that Emma should come over. “We need to go for a walk,” The Mayor said, leading Emma down the nearest ally into the space behind Granny’s. Emma felt panicked for whatever confrontation was about to happen and tried to remain positive. After all, 3 out of 4 wasn’t bad. 

Regina glared at her. “Why didn’t you tell me?” the brunette demanded. Emma felt her temper rising. Her sexuality was not something anyone else was ever entitled to know. “I could have supported you!” Regina continued. 

Emma felt all her defensiveness drain out of her. “Oh,” she realised. 

“And your head is still bleeding. Why haven’t you had anyone look at it properly yet?" she scolded. "You never take enough care of yourself.” Regina spun her round and used magic to heal the cut. “Sorry I should have done that earlier but I got distracted." She conjured up a wet wipe out of thin air. “I never understand how scalp wounds bleed so much.” 

Emma began to relax a little as Regina dabbed at all the blood that had become matted in her hair. The noises from the crowd were quieter here. There was also a much smaller chance of anyone knocking her coffee and she loved the rare occasions when Regina’s hands were on her. She sighed in pleasure.

“Do you think people will mind, about me?” Emma asked. Not that she would let anyone give her shit about it but she wanted to build up a picture of how much grief people were going to give her. 

“The Enchanted Forest was hardly a land of heterosexuality,” Regina said. “I would know.”

“Wait, what?”

Regina finished up and spun her round again so they were facing. She smiled and put her hands on Emma’s arms. “You did a brave and wonderful thing today, Emma.” The brunette kissed her cheek and hugged her tightly too. “I’m so proud of you.” Emma felt tears sting her eyes again. Having her family on her side was all that mattered to her. 

Regina stepped back and eyed her coffee again. 

Emma pulled the cup back. “No way.” 

The Mayor magicked it into her hand. 

“Hey!” Emma said.

“I need to see what all the fuss is about.” Regina took a swig of what was left and winced. “Ugh, it’s gone cold.” She shoved the cup back into Emma’s hand and began walking back onto Main Street.

Emma shook her head in bemusement and followed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Comments and feedback most welcome. : )
> 
> Fic mistake inspiration: someone has a drink in their hand and you forget to write them putting it down


End file.
